[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 79 (Wednesday, May 10, 2023)]
[House]
[Page H2179]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              18TH INSTALLMENT OF FARM BILL IMPACT SERIES

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Kansas (Mr. Mann) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. MANN. Madam Speaker, I rise today to deliver the 18th installment 
of my farm bill impact series and recap the time I spent in Kansas with 
House Agriculture Committee Chairman G.T. Thompson.
  Last week, Chairman Thompson and I hosted a food and agriculture 
listening session with more than 150 farmers, ranchers, agricultural 
producers, and stakeholders on a wheat farm near Gypsum, Kansas. People 
from a wide range of perspectives shared their thoughts about the 
reauthorization of the farm bill.
  While everyone had different viewpoints, we united because we care 
about American agriculture; we care about getting ag policy right; and 
we want to see American farmers, ranchers, and producers thrive. There 
is a picture of that unity right behind us in three combines, 
referenced right here, hoisting American flags.
  John Deere, Case, and Gleaner--green, red, and gray. When you grow up 
on a farm, you are born into a loyalty to one of these trusted American 
brands. They are different. They have different styles and different 
features, but they are all designed to do the same thing: harvest. They 
are designed to produce, to take months and months of hard work and 
effectively churn out a product.
  Our food and agriculture listening session was no different. Everyone 
present brought different styles, priorities, background, and tools to 
the table, but we were there to do the same thing: harvest, produce, 
and take hard work and effectively churn out a product. That is the 
farm bill.
  Without the advocacy and input of producers and stakeholders, my 
colleagues and I wouldn't have a complete picture of what needs to be 
done on ag legislation. We would just be one combine.
  At our event, we hosted people who care about title I and people who 
care about title XII. There were people who care about row crops and 
people who care about livestock. There were representatives from 
commodity groups and representatives from trade associations. It was a 
rich, multifaceted picture of American agriculture, and I am grateful 
to everyone who joined us and for the Kansas agriculture heritage that 
inspired us to spend time together on that wheat farm.
  The brave men and women who ventured west in search of new 
opportunities settled Kansas and took on the burden of feeding, 
fueling, and clothing the world. They struggled through the Dust Bowl, 
raised their kids in sod houses, and broke the prairie for the first 
time. In doing so, they laid the foundation for what we experienced 
last week: a shared history of feeding the world on the soil beneath 
our feet.
  I remember in February 2021, when I just started this job in 
Congress, Kansas had 13 consecutive days of below-freezing 
temperatures, which was a 40-year record. While I was flying back and 
forth between Kansas and D.C., I couldn't stop thinking about the 
Kansas producers and all they were facing. They were out busting ice by 
hand at all hours so their cattle could have access to water. They were 
delivering baby calves and hauling them on the floorboards of trucks to 
someplace warmer, bottle-feeding them so they could grow and survive in 
the wind chills. They were out in the barn at all hours of the night, 
only to start over at 5 a.m. All this was so that Americans have a safe 
and secure food supply.
  Whether it is trudging through knee-high snow in the dead of winter, 
working the fields in the heat of summer, or hauling water in a 
drought, American ag producers don't take days off. Agriculture 
inspires us to look back at our shared heritage, engage in the present, 
and plan for the future. That is what last week was about--planning for 
the future.
  Madam Speaker, I thank Chairman Thompson for spending his invaluable 
time with me in Kansas, and I thank all of our hosts and those who came 
out to our event to share their perspectives.
  As we work to reauthorize the farm bill, the American men and women 
who work tirelessly to feed, fuel, and clothe all of us are at the 
forefront of my mind.
  Madam Speaker, I will be back on the floor soon to host another 
installment of my farm bill impact series.

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